LERWICK, SHETLAND ISLANDS, SCOTLAND AND SHETLAND PONIES! NOT FINISHED

Friday, August 21
Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland
51F, some rain that felt like snow, and cloudy

The very first thing we did when we disembarked the tender which took us to Lerwick was head straight to a shop that sold woolen hats and gloves. I was wearing a turtleneck, sweatshirt, jacket, and rain jacket, and I was freezing! So was TK. Oh my gosh were we cold!

Near the tender drop off area

I reminded myself of the time TK wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise for his special birthday in July and I was not happy. “Who would want to go anywhere cold in the summer?” I argued.  Of course, we went off to Alaska in 1999, and the weather was beautiful, in the mid-70s, and sunshine most of the time.  And here we are today, freezing in Lerwick, the coldest port yet! In mid-August!

It was only 8 a.m. when we arrived in Lerwick, so after bundling up even more, we started looking for a bakery/coffee shop. Most everything was closed, but we found a cute little shop with cinnamon buns and muffins, and the strong coffee we are getting used to.

I love narrow streets

and I am so glad 

that I lived on one

in France in the sixties!

This sweet Shetland Sheepdog lives

in the Bakery/Cafe where

we ate

TK's photos have not been delivered to my inbox yet

Wikipedia told me that Lerwick is a bustling, historic harbor town that serves as the archipelago's cultural and commercial heart. Straddling the boundary between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, these islands feature a unique blend of Scottish charm and deep Viking history.  The total population of the entire Shetland archipelago is roughly 21,000 residents, with about 7,500 people living specifically in the capital town of Lerwick.

The Princess port guide people said the islands were settled by the Vikings between the 8^th and 9^th century and were part of Norway. Since 1472 the islands have been part of Scotland. There is evidence of human settlement in the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages. Lerwick was founded in the 17^th century as a herring and white fish seaport.  Ironically, Shetland’s population of just 23,000 lands more fish that the 61 million people living in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland combined. That has to be a lot of fish.

Another statistic states that the sheep in Shetland outnumber the residents-- the 23,000 sheep reside on the islands. As we traversed the countryside, we certainly did see a lot of sheep.

Our tour, Lerwick: Shetland Pony Express, was with Robertson’s Tours, part of Get Your Guide system. The bus was ample size and off we went through the outskirts of Lerwick

Along the way to see the ponies, we saw a few homes that dotted the landscape--- rolling hills, heather, and sheep. There are few trees because of the wind, and land was cleared for the sheep.

Scalloway Castle

We passed Scalloway Castle, home of Patrick Stewart, earl of Orkney and Shetland. He was notorious for his oppression of the Shetland people and eventually executed in Edinburgh in 1615.  The castle he built by forcing labor is a notable example of a late 1500s tower house.

There are a few bridges between islands,

but the main transport is ferry, boat, or plane

Our bus driver/tour guide told us that Shetland Islands was known as a key part of the Northern Front in World War II, defending the British Isles and supporting resistance operations in Norway. The islands were a springboard for intelligence gathering, defensive missions, and covert missions.

The Shetland Bus by David Howarth

Classic story of secret war time 

missions across the North Sea

Did you know that Shetland ponies have lived on these islands for over 4,000 years. Archaeological evidence suggests horses were present by the Bronze Age, and possibly earlier. Over millennia, they adapted entirely to the conditions around them. 

Sturdy animals, these are!

Mother and colt

Carol said the colt will be all white too

We met Carol and about 14 of her sweet Shetland ponies. Today there are only 1000 such ponies on Shetland Islands, but every one is microchipped and their pedigree is registered.  Despite being small, they can pull twice their weight and at one time were used in coal mines and tunnels. Typically they weigh 400-450 pounds.  

Carol told us that their gestation period is 11 months, and they live up to 30+ years. Now they make great companions to other horses and people.  Her ponies are growing their winter coat now. They prefer to live outdoors year round, with some shelter. The Islands get very little snow.

A graveyard by a church

no gravestone cleaning needed here!

The blog would not be complete

without sheep in Scotland!

Not sure if this is a one family or two

family home

Approaching Lerwick

the walls of Fort Charlotte

First built in 1652 for protection against

 the Dutch, rebuilt in 1781

Guns aimed at the port!

As we rode back to Lerwick our bus driver said that no one locks their home or car, and they even leave their keys in the car. TK and I watched the detective show Shetland, and on that show it seems like a person is murdered every day there. The bus driver joked about that. In truth, he could only recall one murder, and it was such a rare occurrence, the police hardly  knew what to do. He also said that the murderer and the murdered person were Canadian.

TK stands by the fictional detective's home

TK looking for beach glass 

on the only beach around!

Beachglass we found!!

This home/building is across from the

detective's house

in the harbor

A peek into someone's

courtyard

Back in Lerwick we strolled around the little village again, checking out the shops. It was soon time to return to the ship to get warm!!

TK’s Takes: The town looked just like the TV show, Shetland. He wanted to see the Chief Detective’s house (DI Jimmy Perez) and we did!  Now we have visited two of Scotland’s island areas, Shetland and Orkney [2024]! [Orkney was not as cold]. Getting up early to go through the new UK immigration requirement was worth it. The only thing better was if we didn't have to take a water shuttle to the port. This was a very good port of call.

A RESTFUL DAY ABOARD THE SAPPHIRE PRINCESS

Thursday, August 20, 2026
At Sea/Sapphire Princess
66F and partially cloudy

On this cruise, sea days are a time to catch one’s breath—and the bonus last night was turning the clock back an hour—another extra hour of sleep!

Today’s Meet and Greet (set up by Cruise Critic posters—CC is a site where people who are going on the same cruise make connections, offer advice, and learn about fellow cruisers) was important to me because I wanted to confirm some private excursions that we have booked. I met several fascinating people along the way, including “D” and “P” who lived in France for 12 years, “G” who set up the Sapphire Princess’s CC board for this cruise, and several others—let’s hope we meet them again.

Aft, from the Deck 18

This morning

From Deck 18

This morning

Sea days are not very exciting so I may not blog much on those days, but I did want to reflect on the last 12 days in some many ports.
We had a wonderful opportunity to step into the 13^th century and visit the world of Vikings and explorers like Thor Heyerdahl.  We experienced cosmopolitan cities like Stockholm and Oslo, with more modern architecture. We contrasted that with the smaller towns that willingly exposed their Medieval roots, sometimes with a touch of Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, and Renaissance. Everywhere we traveled the people were wonderful—tour guides, bus drivers, people on the streets, and shopkeepers.  

Knowing the history of this part of the world and how they were affected by World Wars, Communism and Nazism made an impact on me. I keep going back to our tour guide in Lithuania who said,  “Humanism and love came back to our country,” when they were liberated from the Soviet Union.  That is such a powerful statement. All of the countries we visited so far on this cruise experienced severe conditions in the 20^th century.  I believe they showed us their humanism and love--we are grateful for the opportunity to visit these countries.

TK’s Takes: The sea was calm this morning, but this evening we are experiencing some robust rolls. He did not care for the Duck a l’Orange tonight at dinner.  The blueberry cobbler was excellent.

TK's appetizer:

Beef Carpaccio

Duck l'Orange

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: LITTLE MERMAID AND TIVOLI GARDENS--EXQUISITE!

Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Copenhagen, Denmark
63F and rainy

The Little Mermaid

I started the day at 6 a.m. BECAUSE I could not find MY medallion last night and I knew that since today was a “turnaround” day the front desk would be very busy and I better get moving early. My medallion was in a Princess bracelet that I have had for years and the whole bracelet must have fallen off in my short trip from dinner back to the stateroom last night.  Evidently the Princess medallion printer was not working, so they gave me an old-fashioned key card like hotels use. I knew this was going to be an interesting day.

Every single passenger was required to disembark for immigration purposes, so at 8:15 a.m. TK and I headed to the port area to catch the Princess bus for the City Tour and Tivioli Gardens.  There are 1089 guests continuing on to Boston---I mentioned yesterday that it was suggested we take a tour because lines would be long in the morning for guests boarding the ship.

Denmark has a population of over six million and is about the size of Wisconsin, according to Natalya, our guide for the day. It has 1400 islands, but only 70-75 are permanently inhabited. Denmark is a Constitutional Monarchy, but the king as no political power.  The monarchy is over 1000 years old.

Domed building is the King' s palace

Many "canals" in Copenhagen

Copenhagen seems to be a series of islands with dozens of bridges. Its core population is 660,000 residents.  As we drove along, the streets were clean, bridges all over, old and new architecture, bicycles everywhere, even in the rain.

Natalya said that bicycles are more important then the car and she told us to be sure to stay in the pedestrian sidewalk area to avoid a bicycle collision. She also said that Danes are not afraid of the cold and even swim in the winter.

Hans Christian Andersen is one of their beloved story tellers—e.g. The Ugly Duckling, Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes—and our first stop was the iconic Copenhagen bronze statue, the Little Mermaid, on the Langeline Promenade. Some say the statue is over-rated, but I definitely wanted to see her, as it evokes strength, love, and dignity to me. Created in 1913 by Edvard Ericksen, it has been vandalized and recreated multiple times. She endures!

Little Mermaid
Iconic statue in Copenhagen

We stopped by the Copenhagen Opera House, the most expensive to build in the world ($370 billion in U.S. dollars). Finished in 2005, it has five connected stages and seats 1500-1700 people. We did not enter.

Copenhagen Opera House

On our way from the port

Magasin du Nord

A shopping center I did not go to!

Tivoli Gardens—nothing like taking 30 senior citizens to an amusement park for 1.5 hours in the rain. That said, it was beautiful! Natalya said that Walt Disney visited Tivoli in 1951 and the park inspired Disneyland. It was built in 1853, 183 years old—the 2^nd oldest operating amusement park in the world! (Number 1 is Dyrehavsbakken [aka Bakken] located in Klampenborg, Denmark, which opened in 1583!)

Entrance to Tivoli Gardens

Gardens all over!

I had a burger here-very tasty!

Those round objects

hanging from the tree are

hanging flower baskets

A few rides we saw

Fountains galore!

Peacock #1

Merry Go Round

Peacock #2

He even posed for me!

Tivoli has one of the world’s oldest operational wooden roller coasters, called Rutsjebanen.

Goodbye, Tivoli!

We could definitely see what might have influenced Walt Disney—the perfect gardens, food halls, fountains, elegant restaurants, clean walkways. Tivoli was beautiful.

When we returned to the ship, the lines were unbelievably long, and we waited at least 1.5 hours to board, even though we were “In Transit” guests. We have never experienced such a kerfuffle on Princess before. People were irate/furious—both those people boarding for the first time and those in transit. It will be interesting to see how Princess tries to smooth this over.

We are ready for a sea day. And no Starbucks mug nor LEGOs. Our tour did not stop to shop…

TK's Takes: Copenhagen seems more spread out--there didn't seem to be a centralized "old town." The canals were nice.  There seems to be quite a debate about the kerfuffle boarding the ship--supposedly it was the Danish immigration process, not Princess' fault.